Barry Camp Memories

Many people remember their Barry Camp experience with great fondness. Their personal stories demonstrate better than anything the impact Barry Camp has had over the years. If you have a Barry Camp memory you'd like to share, email it to the Fish and Game Web Team.

Barry Camp Memories!

The summer of 2002 will always be special -- the NH Fish & Game staff who taught me to hunt and fish (not a common thing in London), the 200 campers who showed me the American way of life in their own unique style and the 10 fellow staff who became friends for life.

I am so glad to see that the camp is in good hands and that the next generation of campers/staff are carrying on the legacy I participated.

-- Judd Philby, London, UK

Some of the best times of our lives

My friend Dan and I went to Barry for 2 or 3 years as campers, and a year as junior counselors in the mid-late '90s. The times we had at camp were some of the best of our lives. I still to this day try and make it up to Rogers Ledge (and Unknown Pond) once every few years. We made some amazing friends up there, and really learned a lot about the great outdoors, survival, and life while enjoying the beautiful White Mountain National Forest. May the memories live on, and may we never forget Rogers Ledge.

-- Ed Hourigan, Brooklyn, NY

Great News!

The re-opening of Barry Camp is wonderful news. My two sons, Josh and Dan, both attended Barry Camp in the early 80's. They still talk about their experiences to this day. Josh is now in Missoula, MT, soon to graduate with honors from the University of Montana, and doing as much fishing and hunting as he can. Dan is at Copper Mountain in Colorado not hunting and fishing, but in the outdoors. I know Barry Camp will always be a part of them.

Thank you, and smiling in Durham, NH -- Lee H. Hodsdon

Camp was great - I'd love to help

I attended Barry Camp several years and later served as a camp counselor. It was great and I'm eager to get involved with the renovation project -- how can I help?

-- Chris Towne, Danbury, NH

Barry Camp Firsts: Drawing a bow, shooting clay pigeons, seeing bear

I attended Barry Conservation Camp 2 years in a row back in the summers of '88 and '89. I ended up attending a second year with my younger brother and a few friends that were too young to get their Hunters Safety Card the year before. It's hard to describe to you how excited I was to attend. There were many firsts for me at this camp. At camp it was my first time drawing a bow and letting an arrow go, shooting clay pigeons and seeing bear. When I arrived, I remember being surprised to find out that there were girls attending as well! Who knew that they liked to shoot, hunt, fish and be outdoors too! Wow, adolescence was a funny time :) I now recommend the camp to any of my friends whose children are interested in this type of subject matter.

-- Paul Barnes, Dover NH

Inspiring Future Conservationists

Many sporting clubs around New Hampshire typically sponsor one or more campers to go to Barry Camp each year – a great way for local sportsmen and women to support conservation education and encourage the youngsters who are our future outdoor enthusiasts and natural resource professionals.

Tyson Morrill from Belmont was the recipient of one such scholarship to Barry Camp. He and his family are members of the Belknap County Sportsmen's Association (BCSA). Several years ago, BCSA paid for Tyson and several others to attend Barry Camp. He and friends enjoyed the experience so much that they went back again (maybe twice more), this time on their parent's dime. BCSA pays for only one trip to camp.

Tyson was exposed to trapping at Barry, which got him more interested in outside activities. He continued the trapping, making money the past two summers for school. BCSA, thru our scholarship program, helped Tyson to attend Paul Smith College in the Adirondacks to study Wildlife Management. He is now in his second year; BCSA contributed this year also.

This past summer, Tyson worked for NH Fish and Game under a grant program. His supervisor was fisheries biologist Ben Nugent, aka Uncle Ted. They went around the state electro-shocking fish in remote areas. Tyson tells me they discovered several previously unknown sites for native trout! Trout Unlimited played big part in this project also, I understand.

One of the other kids attending Barry Camp with Tyson (a little younger) is following close behind and wants to attend Paul Smith College also. Tell me that Barry Camp is not inspirational!!

– Mike Normandin, Belmont, NH

A Trip Down Memory Lane

In 1976 I was hired as a teen by the Youth Conservation Corps to work at the federal fish hatchery in Berlin, NH. I spent 8 weeks there with 29 other NH teenagers.

Our summer was filled with working the trout hatchery, timber stand improvement, American Mountain Club trail maintenance and remote pond water sampling in the White Mountain National Forest.

My mother told me years ago that I had left as a boy and returned as a man.

Fast forward 34 years. The facility is now called Barry Conservation Camp and is run by NH Fish and Game and NH 4-H. Lack of funds for maintenance has begun to show -- enough so the camp was shuttered this summer due to disrepair.

Enter volunteerism. Since Fish and Game doesn't have the money, NH sportsman's clubs have come forth with the labor and the money.

I read about the project and sent an email to the coordinator letting him know I would volunteer. Little did I know the work party was set for the coming weekend! Having the most understanding wife in the world, who I shared my past with on our White Mountain honeymoon 25 years ago, I made the trip north.

Over the weekend the crafts hall was stripped, re-sided, stained and got a new metal roof. It was good to be back.